Ten days ago, Panda Waste introduced yet another charge for my hard-pressed constituents. This time it is €3.80 for the lift of the brown bin. I was contacted by one of my neighbours who said she put her brown bin out for the last time two weeks ago.

She simply cannot afford another €100 per year, and that is if she only puts it out once per fortnight. It is the brown bin, so that cannot be left. If people did, their neighbours would not thank them. At this stage, it is acting as a disincentive to recycling. The trade unions - Fórsa, SIPTU and Connect - are advocating through their More Power To You campaign that the councils take back control of waste management. What does the Tánaiste say to them? Does he agree now is the time to do that and to properly incentivise, encourage and help people to do the right thing, which is what they want to do? We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. They cannot afford these increases. The private market has destroyed waste management in this State. I think it is time for the councils to take back control, as do the unions and some of my constituents. What does the Tánaiste say to them?

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I agree with the broader strategy of incentivising recycling and separation of waste. The country has made extraordinary progress in those areas over the past 25 years and that needs to be acknowledged. Sometimes we tend to have a negative self-perception of the country; actually, it has made extraordinary progress on a number of fronts in the past two decades.

On the council, I am open to different options in respect of the collection of waste. A noticeable development in recent decades has been the decline in landfill and in the necessity for landfill. Transitioning from a private sector arrangement to a State-sector arrangement in its entirety is easier said than done. That would need to be analysed carefully and in a considered manner.